Carey, Cody, Zack and London had all joined Mikayla in her suite. The manager that Mr. Tipton had hired for the singer was due to arrive soon. All were curious, and bit apprehensive about what the man would be like.

"I still say I should be her manager," Zack said yet again.

"Give it a rest," Cody told his brother.

"Actually, I wish you could have the job," Mikayla said as she looked to Carey. "You've helped me so much."

"Thank you sweetie," Carey replied, touched by the faith that the girl had in her. "I'm always going to be here for you, but you're going to need someone with experience to be your manager. Especially if you're going to get your new album out by that insane deadline that Ms. Quigley set."

Everyone then began discussing the problem of producing an entire CD worth of songs in such a short time. Carey and Mikayla were the only ones who truly understood how much work would be involved.

"But it is possible, right?" Cody asked.

"It's conceivable," Carey answered. "But it's not going to be easy."

The airport in St. Louis was not an unpleasant place. The food court had a nice selection of tasty treats and the chairs in the waiting areas were well-padded.

Nonetheless, Miley Stewart was very unhappy to be there. She had expected to be in Boston by now. Unfortunately a line of severe thunderstorms had disrupted her plane's flight plan and there seemed to be some difficulty in getting a connecting flight on to her intended destination.

"When can we get airborne again?" she turned and asked her father.

"Can't get an answer on that yet," he replied. "We're just going to have to wait."

Miley sighed and leaned against Lily, who was seated beside her. She was glad that Lily had been able to accompany her for moral support. Oliver had wanted to come as well, but he had some family obligations that he couldn't get out of. Jackson also had to stay behind due to his job.

"I've got some good news though," Robbie Ray said. "Whenever we do get to Boston, we'll have a room waiting for us."

"You got through to the Tipton?" Miley asked.

"Only to make a reservation," he answered. "I still couldn't convince anyone to let us talk to Mikayla."

Miley sighed once more. "It'll probably be better to talk to her face to face anyway."

James Lafayette was a tall man in his early forties with a boyish face that made him look almost a decade younger, especially when he smiled.

As of late, smiling was not something he did easily.

After twenty years of working in the music industry, the man couldn't point to one accomplishment he was proud of. He'd worked with a variety of artists, all of whom had been either untalented hacks or undisciplined prima donnas. In all cases, despite his best efforts, every artist he'd dealt with had crashed and burned their careers. So he wasn't overly optimistic about his newest job.

The end of next month, he thought ruefully. They expect a completed album to be RELEASED by the end of next month. And they expect me to make it happen. With a teenage singer I've never met.

When he learned he'd be managing Mikayla, James wasn't sure what kind of artist he'd be getting. Her previous CD had done nothing to impress him. He was hardly a fan of forgettable, bubblegum pop. But then he'd seen her performance at the Youth Scene Music Awards.

I just hope that night wasn't a fluke, he thought as he knocked on the door to the singer's suite. He forced a smile as he waited for the door to open.

It was Mikayla herself who answered. She was very polite when she invited him in and introduced him to her friends. First Cody, then London and Zack, and finally Carey.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Lafayette," she said.

"Please," he replied as his eyes took in the sight of her. "Call me Jim."

Suddenly, his smile was no longer forced.

Miley, Lily and Robbie Ray were finally able to board a plane in St. Louis, but the jet still had to sit on the runway for a bit.

"Why don't you try and get some rest?" Lily suggested. She was concerned at how fatigued her friend looked.

"I can't," Miley replied. "It's impossible for me to relax."

"Don't worry," Lily said in a reassuring tone. "We'll be in Boston by midnight at the latest, and you can arrange a meeting with Mikayla tomorrow. Things will work out."

"I don't know," Miley responded. "I've been thinking. I go and apologize to Mikayla, and then we make peace in public...and that's supposed to fix everything?"

"Umm…yes," Lily said. "Hopefully."

"But since that tape of me got out, we've been so busy trying to reach her, we haven't really thought about how she's going to react. Maybe she won't accept my apology. Or what if I was right about her before? Dad thinks she might have changed, but what if it was just a trick? If she still hates me…if she's still out to get me…Lily, this is the best chance she's ever had to destroy Hannah Montana."

Lily was quiet for an uncomfortable amount of time. "She won't do that," she finally told Miley, then silently cursed herself for sounding so unconvincing.

Mikayla and company were discussing how they could produce her new album.

"There's no time to write new songs," her manager said. "We'll have to do new versions of existing ones."

"An album of all cover songs?" Mikayla said. "That's not very original."

"We don't have much choice," he answered.

"If you pick the right songs, it will work," Carey added.

"Hey, I can see it now," Zack declared in a burst of inspiration. "You call the album 'Mikayla: Cover Girl'. It's a good name and it opens up all sorts of commercial tie-ins with the cosmetics company."

Lafayette glanced over to Zack, impressed. "We could work up a cross-promotional deal. It'd earn more money for Mikayla. That's great thinking."

London hugged her boyfriend. "You're so smart." She followed up on her compliment with a kiss to his cheek.

Zack kept his arms around the heiress as he looked back to Mikayla's manager. "Now since this was my idea, I figure I'm entitled to about eight percent of the earnings."

"Zack," Carey scolded.

"Okay," he replied. "Because Mikayla's a friend, I'll settle for six percent. But that's the gross I'm talking about, not the net."

"Will you be serious?" Cody said as he lightly smacked the back of his brother's head, causing Mikayla to laugh.

"Would you settle for a mention in the album liner notes?" she asked Zack.

"Take the offer kid," Lafayette advised. "First rule of business…don't get too greedy."

Once the 'negotiations' with Zack were through, Carey suggested that Mikayla make of list of songs she'd want to record for her CD. Then it was time for the meeting to end. Zack and London had dinner plans, while Carey had to perform down in the lounge.

"Are there any tickets available for your show?" Lafayette asked Carey as they exited Mikayla's suite. "I'd love to see your act."

"I think I could get a seat for you," she answered.

And once again, the man found himself wearing a smile that wasn't forced.

Cody stayed with Mikayla and helped her make a list of songs. Mikayla had become familiar with many selections from Carey's CD collection and she sang a few for Cody to get his reaction. Then she sang a few more.

Before they knew it, the hour had grown late. Since neither had eaten dinner, Mikayla ordered room service. After they had shared a nice meal together, they snuggled together on the couch.

"So what was your favorite song?" Mikayla asked.

"They all sound great when you sing them," he replied and was rewarded for his answer with a kiss.

"Seriously, didn't any of them stand out for you?" she asked again.

He considered the matter for a second. "That old Heart song you did was cool."

"You mean I Want You So Bad?"

"That's the one."

Mikayla smiled as she started to sing very softly to Cody.

When the wind's blowing though your hair

I want you so bad

Want you so bad

The singer reached up and ran her fingers through her boyfriend's blonde locks.

I see your smile boy, everywhere

I want you so bad

Want you so bad

As Mikayla leaned into Cody, he shifted his weight so that they were both more comfortable. He lay back on the couch, Mikayla lay on top of him.

She stopped singing.

"I want you so bad," she whispered.

His response was to press his lips against hers.

To be continued...

author's notes: Oh, those wacky teens. Just can't leave them alone for a second. :) Also, now you've met Mikayla's new manager, hopefully he's more likable than my previous original characters (Pratt and Quigley). In other news, I posted a new Suite Life fic a couple of days ago. It's called The Smarterest and it might be something that both Cody/London fans AND Cody/Bailey fans would like. So please check it out.

Lyrics to I Want You So Bad are by Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg.